Artpark

Artpark & Company will present the fifth annual Fairy House Festival from noon until 5 p.m. Sunday, June 7, in the lower park (enter at South Fourth street). The Fairy House Festival is an event filled with hands-on art activities.

The Lewiston Kiwanis Club presented Artpark's seventh annual Free Family Movie Night Monday. Disney's "Frozen" was presented to hundreds of families at the outdoor amphitheater. "Frozen" movie friends Olaf, Elsa and Anna were on hand to greet the children. The Peach Queen contestants also made a special appearance at the event.

Artpark fans got a taste of Steve "Luke" Lukather's style of music when he performed June 24 with Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band. The singer returns with his own band, Toto, to close out the 2014 "Tuesdays in the Park" concert series Aug. 26.

Elks Lodge No. 346 Niagara Falls assisted Artpark & Company in presenting the fourth annual Fairy House Festival this summer at Artpark. The Elks have been the presenting sponsor of the annual event, which draws families and visitors each spring.

Michael McDonald will co-headline the final "Tuesdays in the Park" concert on Aug. 26. The singer with the distinctive baritone voice was the top draw in 2005 - the first year Artpark & Company went all-out to bring top talent to Lewiston - and drew more than 12,000 for a second appearance in 2008.

Live music, art vendors, food trucks, dance performances and art activities for children are just some of the happenings that will be a part of Artpark's new festival, "ARTsPARKed," on Saturday, Aug. 16.

George and Winifred Banks have lost that loving feeling, while their not-so-precious children, Jane and Michael, have run amok - and run many nannies into early retirement. In their hour of need, Mary Poppins (Emilie Renier) appears - out of nowhere - and delivers a spoonful of ... tough love, insight, life lessons ... and, yes, sugar.

Motown sensation Aretha Franklin, together with her Aretha Franklin Orchestra, thoroughly entertained an Artpark Tuesdays crowd this week, with a splendid blend of her 500-plus soul classics dating from the '60s, '70s and '80s.

Get the kids outside and get creative at Artpark's "Free Family Saturdays" this summer. Families can enjoy a variety of weekly themed "make and take" hands-on art activities, the costume closet, paint space, pottery wheel and live performances.

Artpark & Company will present six concerts on a newly constructed stage in the Emerald Grove area of the lower park (enter park at South Fourth Street), just outside of the art gallery and information center. Concerts in the new "Music in the Woods" series start at 4 p.m. and are free to the public.

Phillip Phillips has taken us behind the light, which is the name of his new sophomore album, to expose what was hidden in the shadows. What we find, if we turn off the spotlight - forget about "Idol" and the song featured across television - is a singer/songwriter who is crafting authentic, anthemic, emotionally charged alt-rock songs that are just plain good.

The past week was a busy one for the Artpark outdoor amphitheater. Events at the concert venue ranged from the all-new Latitude 43 Music Festival to benefit the Variety Club, to Tuesday's rain-shortened performance of Widespread Panic, to Wednesday's sold-out Coors Light concert featuring the Arctic Monkeys.

Lewiston Dance Center students recently took part in the Fairy House Festival a yearly event held at Artpark. The students dressed in their ballet costumes with fairy makeup and fairy wings and performed their ballet dances for onlookers.

Artpark & Company welcomes rock royalty June 24 when Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band headline "Tuesdays in the Park" in the outdoor amphitheater. The legendary Beatles drummer will be joined by Steve "Luke" Lukather, Richard Page, Gregg Rolie, Todd Rundgren and Gregg Bissonette.

As a follow up to its 40th anniversary celebration and the 16 temporary installations on display in 2013, Artpark & Company will continue its visual arts renaissance and bring more artwork into the park this summer. Six large-scale, semi-permanent sculptures will be constructed in the historic Artpark woods and along the red brick road.

Artpark has hosted hundreds of big name concerts over the years but, on June 12, history will be made when dancing violinist Lindsey Stirling visits Western New York for the first time as part of her 40-city tour.

Jackson Browne brings his solo acoustic tour to Artpark in Lewiston Monday, Aug. 11, for a 7:30 p.m. Mainstage Theater performance. The show is a LiveNation event.

Tickets - priced at $66 and $56 for reserved indoor seating, and $29.50 general admission lawn - go on sale Friday, April 25, at noon. Purchase tickets at www.LiveNation.com, in person at the Artpark box office (weekdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.), or by phone at 1-888-223-6000.

Artpark & Company announced another batch of bands Monday in the "Tuesday in the Park" and "Coors Light Wednesdays" outdoor concert series. Tickets for these events will go on sale Friday, April 11, at 10 a.m.

Artpark & Company is set to welcome Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band to the "First Niagara presents Tuesday in the Park" concert series June 24 in the Outdoor Amphitheater. The All Starr Band will feature Toto's Steve Lukather, Mr. Mister's Richard Page, original Santana singer Gregg Rolie, Todd Rundgren and drummer Gregg Bissonette. Tickets go on sale Friday.

With spring just around the corner, Artpark and Parks and Trails New York are seeking community volunteers to lend a hand tidying up the Earl W. Brydges Artpark State Park for the upcoming summer season of events and family fun.